Vista users get free Wi-Fi access

Early adopters of Windows Vista will be able to get three months' free Wi-Fi access with hotzone operator The Cloud.

"[Microsoft] chose us because of the extensive network coverage we have in the UK, which is numerically far greater than some of the other Wi-Fi operators here," a spokesperson for The Cloud told ZDNet UK on Thursday, adding that the operator was "delighted" at the partnership.

Vista users will be able to access the service from early next week by visiting Microsoft's UK Vista homepage and signing up. The Cloud's spokesperson said users would not have to give any credit card details at sign-up — however, these details will be needed three months later if the customer wants to make their usage permanent.

The Cloud operates 7,500 Wi-Fi sites across the UK, with indoor hotspots in airports, railway stations and hotels, and outdoor "hotzones" in six city centres. The spokesperson added that The Cloud's square mile-wide wireless network across the City of London would be operational from the end of March.